Image of wounded Aleppo boy shocks worldBEIRUT -- The Russian military said Thursday it was ready to back a U.N. call for weekly cease-fires for Syria's contested city of Aleppo, as haunting footage of a young boy's rescue from the aftermath of an airstrike shook global media. The image of the stunned and weary-looking boy, sitting in an ambulance caked with dust and with blood on his face, captured the horror that has beset the war-torn northern city as photographs of the child wer...

Brazilian police: U.S. swimmers weren't robbedRIO DE JANEIRO -- Brazilian police said Thursday that swimmer Ryan Lochte and three U.S. teammates were not robbed after a night of partying, and that the intoxicated athletes instead vandalized a gas station bathroom and were questioned by armed guards before they paid for the damage and left. The robbery that was or wasn't has become the biggest spectacle outside of the Olympic venues in Rio, casting a shadow over American Olympians in Brazi...

Volunteers sought to be infected with ZikaWASHINGTON -- Wanted: Volunteers willing to be infected with the Zika virus for science. It may sound bizarre, but researchers are planning just such a study -- this winter, when mosquitoes aren't biting -- to help speed development of much-needed Zika vaccines. The quest for a vaccine began less than a year ago as Brazil's massive outbreak revealed that Zika, once dismissed as a nuisance virus, can harm a fetus' brain if a woman is infected d...

Organ network mapping fairer liver transplantsWASHINGTON -- The nation's transplant network is taking a long-awaited step to ease a serious disparity: Where you live affects whether you get a timely liver transplant or die waiting. Desperate patients sometimes travel across the country to get on a shorter waiting list -- if they can afford it. On Monday, the United Network for Organ Sharing is proposing a change, redrawing the map that governs how donated livers are distributed so patient...

Man at center of segregation suit dies at 75COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A man at the center of a lawsuit that culminated with the U.S. Supreme Court outlawing segregated public schools has died. Harry Briggs Jr. was 75. According to Samuels Funeral Home in Manning, Briggs died Aug. 9 at his New York City home. A funeral is scheduled for Friday. Briggs' parents, Harry and Eliza Briggs, were the first signers of a 1949 petition seeking equal treatment for black students. Harry Jr.'s signature was t...

Divided America: Even in fractured land, there's unityEDITOR'S NOTE -- This story is part of Divided America, AP's ongoing exploration of the economic, social and political divisions in American society. SOUTH BOSTON, Va. -- Outside the Annin Flagmakers factory in this perennial swing state, a summer of discontent is brewing. They feel the country's divides inside, too -- gulfs between rich and poor, left and right, this side and that side, that seem to grow deeper with each passing week. Yet as ...

Report: U.S. added 255,000 jobs in JulyWASHINGTON -- Years of steady job gains have finally begun to benefit a wider range of Americans, including those with less education and in lower-paying jobs. A second straight month of robust hiring -- 255,000 jobs added in July -- pointed to employer confidence that suggested that the economy is powering through a slump that struck early this year. The unemployment rate remained a low 4.9 percent, the Labor Department said Friday. Hiring ha...

US trade deficit hits $44.5 billion, biggest in 10 months WASHINGTON — The U.S. trade deficit increased to the highest point in 10 months, driven up by a big rise in imports of oil and Chinese-made computers, cell phones and clothing. The deficit rose to $44.5 billion in June, 8.7 percent higher than a revised May deficit of $41 billion, the Commerce Department reported Friday. It was the biggest gap between what America sells abroad and what the country imports since a $44.6 billion deficit last Aug...

Guess what happened next: Facebook battles 'clickbait' NEW YORK — Facebook is taking another stab at ridding users' news feeds of "clickbait," the links and headlines that ask readers to "guess what happened next" but don't provide any useful information, tempting people to click if they want to find out anything. The world's largest social media company last tried this in 2014, when it announced that it was improving users' news feed to help them find what was "interesting and relevant" and weed ...

As Zika fears escalate, lawmakers point fingers from afar WASHINGTON — As Zika escalates into a public health crisis and the number of mosquito-transmitted cases grows, Republicans and Democrats are pointing fingers over the failure by Congress to commit federal dollars to fight the virus. President Barack Obama on Thursday sought to pressure congressional Republicans over the issue, encouraging voters to "call your members of Congress and tell them to do their job." "The money that we need to fight ...

Obama denies $400M payment to Iran was ransom WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama vigorously denied on Thursday that a $400 million cash payment to Iran was ransom to secure the release of four Americans jailed in Tehran. He defended the transaction as evidence that the nuclear accord with Iran has allowed for progress on other matters. "This wasn't some nefarious deal," Obama said during a news conference at the Pentagon. The money was delivered to the Iranian government in January, at t...

Phelps to carry US flag during Olympic opening in Rio RIO DE JANEIRO — Michael Phelps has a lot of memorable moments at the Olympics. This one ranks right up there. Adding another honor to his remarkable career, Phelps was chosen to carry the U.S. flag in Friday night's opening ceremony at Maracana Stadium. The pick seemed obvious — Phelps, after all, is the most decorated athlete in Olympic history and will be competing in his fifth Summer Games — but he was clearly overwhelmed Wednesday after b...

FBI: Transit officer 1st lawman charged under US terror law ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Prosecutors brought the first-ever federal terrorism charges against a law enforcement officer in the U.S., alleging Wednesday that a patrol officer with the D.C. region's transit police bought about $250 worth of gift cards for someone he thought was working with the Islamic State group. Nicholas Young, 36, of Fairfax, was arrested Wednesday at Metro Transit Police headquarters in Washington and charged with a single count o...

Americans across board see divisionNEW YORK -- Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump is seen as likely to unify the U.S. if elected, but pessimism about the Republican candidate is far greater, according to a poll released Monday that reflects deep division in the country. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found 73 percent of Americans believe Trump will further divide the country, compared with 43 percent saying that about Clinton....

President: More work to do for veteransATLANTA -- President Barack Obama said Monday that the U.S. has made serious strides in improving services for military veterans, but work remains to overcome shortcomings in the delivery of health care, housing and mental health services. He called the nation's commitment to its veterans a "sacred covenant." "I don't use those words lightly. It's sacred because there is no more solemn request than to ask someone to risk their life, to be read...

Officials: 1 dead, 3 hurt in shootingAUSTIN, Texas -- A shooting in a crowded entertainment district in downtown Austin early Sunday caused a chaotic scene, leaving one woman dead and three others wounded and police searching for a suspect. Austin police say they want to question a 24-year-old possibly armed man in the overnight shootings. Police are circulating a photograph of a man described in a statement as a "person of interest." Austin Police Chief of Staff Brian Manley say...

U.S. airstrikes targeting IS militants in LibyaWASHINGTON -- The United States launched multiple airstrikes against Islamic State militants in Libya on Monday, opening a new, more persistent front against the group at the request of the United Nations-backed government, Libyan and U.S. officials said. Fayez Serraj, the head of Libya's U.N.-brokered presidency council, said in a televised statement that American warplanes attacked the IS bastion of Sirte on the Mediterranean in northern Lib...

FBI: 'Flip-flop bandit' linked to robberies in four statesLITTLE ROCK -- The FBI is seeking the public's help in identifying a serial bank robber whom investigators have dubbed the "flip-flop bandit." The FBI says the same man is linked to bank robberies this summer in Bryant and Morrilton in Arkansas and in Yukon, Oklahoma. In a flier , the FBI said the man is also suspected in three bank robberies in North Carolina and one in Knoxville, Tennessee. The suspect is described as a white, heavyset man, ...

Regardless of vote, Americans see divisionNEW YORK — Neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump is seen as likely to unify the U.S. if elected, but pessimism about the Republican candidate is far greater, according to a poll released Monday that reflects deep division in the country. The survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found 73 percent of Americans believe Trump will further divide the country, compared with 43 percent saying that about Clinton. ...

'Zika is now here': Mosquitoes now spreading virus in USMIAMI — Mosquitoes have apparently begun spreading the Zika virus on the U.S. mainland for the first time, health officials said Friday, a long-feared turn in the epidemic that is sweeping Latin America and the Caribbean. Four recently infected people in the Miami area — one woman and three men — are believed to have contracted the virus locally through mosquito bites, Gov. Rick Scott said. No mosquitoes in Florida have actually been found to ...